Information and photo courtesy of volleyball.org.au
An unheralded new pairing have stunned the men’s draw in an exciting end to the Cobram-Barooga Classic at Thompsons Beach on the banks of the Murray River.
Oliver Merritt and Jed Walker had never made Super Sunday at any Australian Beach Volleyball Tour event but finished finals day standing atop the podium after an incredible run through the tournament.
While they celebrated their victory, Jana Milutinovic celebrated her fifth straight title alongside Taliqua Clancy who notched her 16th win on the national tour.
The number one seeds didn’t have it all their own way though, pushed hard by second seeds and training buddies Georgia Johnson and Lizzie Alchin.
Clancy and Milutinovic won the opening set before Johnson and Alchin opened up an advantage in the second which they were able to hold onto and even up the clash.
The Canberra victors from three weeks ago were able to flip momentum back their way in the third and take their second straight win.
Milutinovic won her first ever Tour event at Cobram 12 months ago and was determined to keep her run of success going this year.
“I’d be lying if I said I didn’t really, really want to get this one,” she said. “This time last year was my first-ever gold medal so to have not dropped a gold medal since is pretty awesome.”
Clancy said her new partnership with Milutinovic is still coming together and will take more steps forward as the combination prepare to head overseas for Beach Pro Tour events in Mexico and Brazil.
“I really enjoy the new partnership and the growth we can have as a team,” said the Olympic silver medallist. “I really see that we can be one of the top teams on tour and I’m excited for us just to keep growing and to get on World Tour to soak in all those experiences and keep growing our game.”
After the women’s final, the men’s decider commenced with second seeds Paul Burnett and Luke Ryan going in as favourites.
However it was the dynamic combination of Oliver Merritt and Jed Walker who maintained the form which less than 24 hours before saw them win their first quarter-final.
A semi-final win in the morning seemed to take little out of the pair who were out of the blocks to take the first set from Burnett and Ryan.
Despite often bringing out the crowd’s voice with huge shots, Burnett and Ryan couldn’t get on top with their energetic opponents not giving an inch.
After sealing the match and being initially overcome by emotion, Merritt pointed out the Adelaide 2025 World Championships signage to his teammate, indicating that’s where they want to end up in November this year.
It’s that same confidence the Queenslander brought into the week and while many watching on may be surprised by the fifth seeds victory, he thought they were always a chance of lifting the trophy.
“100% – we went in this wanting to win; we went into this thinking we were good enough to win,” he said. “And we knew if we played our best and delivered what we know we can do, we could take down absolutely anybody in this field.”
For Walker, who was named MVP of the 2023 Australian Volleyball Super League Final, his transition to a predominantly beach player has taken a leap forward today and he also bears the confidence of his teammate.
“We’ve got so much trust building here, at any moment we know what we need from each other,” said the West Australian. “We know what we want to do, we’ve got a shared goal and it’s just so awesome to tick this box off.”
Earlier in the day, Cameron Zajer claimed her second bronze medal in the space of three weeks, this time partnering with Tara Phillips, while Garang Anyang and Justin Schumann scored their 10th national tour podium together in the men’s playoff for third.
The fourth and final round of the Australian Beach Volleyball Tour will take place at the Mahindra Australian Beach Volleyball Championships on 21-23 March at Coolangatta.
Click here for draws and results.
2024/25 AUSTRALIAN BEACH VOLLEYBALL TOUR
Round 3 – Cobram-Barooga Classic, Thompsons Beach VIC
28 February-2 March 2025
WOMEN’S GOLD MEDAL MATCH
[1] Taliqua Clancy/Jana Milutinovic d [2] Georgia Johnson/Lizzie Alchin 2:1 (21-17, 11-21, 15-8)
MEN’S GOLD MEDAL MATCH
[5] Oliver Merritt/Jed Walker d [2] Paul Burnett/Luke Ryan 2:0 (21-17, 21-19)
WOMEN’S BRONZE MEDAL MATCH
[4] Cameron Zajer/Tara Phillips d [3] StefieFejes/Lara Marić 2:1 (18-21, 21-13, 15-9)
MEN’S BRONZE MEDAL MATCH
[3] Garang Anyang/Justin Schumann d [8] Ben Carroll/Klass McIntosh 2:0 (21-17, 21-14)
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